Mein Engel
by sashsweetie
Summary: Cameron becomes entangled in the life of an abused girl, in the end becoming her foster mother. Cam-centric. Child abuse.
1. Found

"_A rusty old halo, skinny white cloud  
Second hand wings full of patches  
a rusty old halo, skinny white cloud  
Robe that's so woolly it scratches."_

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"Dr. Cameron! Dr. Cameron!"

Cameron raced towards the gurney that was being wheeled into the ER. "What's the deal?" she demanded, looking down at the little girl on the bed. She winced as she saw the blood and the bruising covering her face and neck.

"She was found in a school playground by a lady walking her dog. No identification." The paramedic informed her. "She's still unconscious, but breathing is normal. She's stable. Possible broken ribs."

"Okay." It was seven AM, the ER relatively empty. "Get her to a room and I'll examine her." Cameron ordered, following the gurney to its destination.

Cameron closed the curtains and waited until the paramedics left before beginning the physical exam. Pulling back the sheets, she found the naked girl disturbingly thin. There was bruising covering her entire body along with scratches still oozing blood. Her nose was bleeding but not broken.

Cameron felt gently down her arms, legs, and then ribs, discovering two broken on the right side. Carefully, she lifted the girl's head and examined her scalp through thick, dark curly hair, discovering more bleeding, though nothing serious.

Sighing, she went to grab a bowl of water and some gauze to remove the dirt from the girl's body and determine the extent of the bruising. She was going over the girl's ribs when she heard a moan. Cameron moved instantly to the girl's head. "Hello?" she questioned.

The child's eyes fluttered open and her body tensed. Cameron smiled, a hand moving to touch the girl's hair gently. The girl relaxed as she saw Cameron evidently didn't intend to harm her. "I'm Dr. Cameron." Cameron said softly.

"W-where am I?" The girl's voice was small, frightened.

"You're in the emergency room of Princeton Plainsboro Hospital." Cameron explained. "I'm just cleaning you up so I can see how badly hurt you are. Try not to move, you have broken ribs."

The girl nodded, relaxing slightly. "Okay."

"What's your name?" Cameron asked as she continued to clean the girl up to the best of her ability.

"Evvie." The girl winced a little. "Evelyn."

"Do you remember what happened Evvie?" Cameron inspected the girl's face.

"They chased me. Hurt me." She murmured, closing her eyes.

"Who?"

"My foster brothers." Evvie said matter-of-factly.

Cameron nodded, anger burning inside of her. Trying to keep her voice level, she asked quietly: "Do they hurt you often?"

"Not like this." Evvie said, attempting to sit up and crying out as she discovered just how much it hurt to have broken ribs. "They and their friends got drunk and thought they'd have some fun."

Cameron frowned and helped to settle her back down. Picking up the hospital gown she'd grabbed along with the water she suggested: "Let's get this on you", helping the girl into it carefully.

"Thanks." Evvie murmured.

Cameron smiled sadly. "No problem. I'm just going to grab a few things. I'll need to do blood tests. I'm worried about your nutrient levels." Evvie nodded.

Cameron left briefly to dispose of the dirtied material, wash her hands, and gather some more supplies before returning to the room. "I'll just do this and we should be able to move you down to another floor. You don't really need to be in the ER." Cameron told Evvie as she tied off her arm.

"Will you still be my doctor?" Evvie asked, looking nervous.

"If you'd like" Cameron decided. There was no reason she couldn't continue to oversee the girl. Evvie seemed comfortable with her, and in Cameron's opinion, that was most important. She was sure she could work out permission from Cuddy.

"There's going to be a little pinch." She told Evvie before inserting the needle to draw blood. When she finished, she gently told Evvie that they'd have to call social services.

"Don't let them blame my foster father!" Evvie insisted. "He's so kind to me. It's not his fault his sons are the way they are." Cameron promised she'd pass that on.

"I'm going to get you moved to Paediatrics." She told Evvie. "Then I'm going to call social services and talk to my boss, and I'll be down to see you afterwards, alright?"

Evvie smiled wanly. "Thanks, Dr. Cameron."

Cameron realised she was digging herself a hole that she had little hope of escaping. She too easily became entwined in the fates of her patients. As House had always told her, she couldn't help but care for damaged creatures, human or otherwise. They were her calling. Evvie was no different. Cameron couldn't abandon her to the life she'd been given.

Leaving Evvie's room, she relocated to a more private location to talk to social services, explaining the situation Evvie had been found in, her medical condition, and the words Evvie had asked her to say: not to blame her foster father. They said they'd send a representative over shortly.

From there she made her way to Cuddy's office.

"Come in." was the quiet response to her knock. "Ah, Dr. Cameron."

"Hello." Cameron said quietly. "I'm meant to be off now, but a young girl came in, an abuse victim. She asked if I'd stay her doctor even though I transferred her to Paediatrics."

Cuddy eyed her sceptically. "And do you want to?"

Cameron nodded. "She seems to trust me, and I think I can help her."

"Just keep in mind you can't be at the hospital forever. Even you need sleep at some point." Cuddy cryptically granted her permission.

Cameron nodded and withdrew, aiming for Paeds.

"Evvie?" she questioned as she entered the child's room.

"Hi." Evvie looked much cleaner. Evidently she'd showered as her hair was wet and drying into shoulder-length dark curls. Brown eyes looked up at Cameron tiredly.

"My boss gave me permission to continue being your primary care physician." Cameron explained. "I talked to social services, and they're going to send over someone as soon as they can."

Evvie nodded calmly. "Okay."

"Do you want to try and get some sleep?" Cameron asked.

"Yeah."

"Okay. I can tell them not to wake you unless it's an emergency."

"Thanks." Evvie lay down against the pillows. Cameron moved forward and pulled the blankets up over her, leaning down to kiss the girl's pale cheek gently. Evvie smiled.

"I need some sleep too." Cameron told her. "But I'll just be in one of the on-call rooms, so I'll tell the nurses to page me if anything happens, alright?"

Evvie nodded. "Okay." Her eyes were already closing. Cameron looked at her fondly before leaving the room, telling the nurses what she'd just told Evvie, and heading for an on-call room to crash for a bit.


	2. Kept

_A/N: to the person who felt the need to go on a rant about my story, if you are still reading, I deleted your review. Constructive criticism is appreciated, random bashing is not. Do not presume to know me. To those who like the story, thanks for your support, new or continued!_

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"_While you're on earth you should shine like a star  
Brighten up the corner wherever you are  
Doing each day the best you can do"_

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Several hours later, Cameron woke up, stiff, on the hard bed of an on-call room. Checking the time, and finding it to be just after noon, she decided to shower in the adjacent bathroom before heading over to check on Evvie and maybe get some coffee.

Dressed in clean scrubs she wandered into Paediatrics and greeted the nurse who was at the station. "Did anything happen with the girl in 101?" she questioned. The nurse shook her head.

"She's still sleeping. Social Services faxed over her file though, did you want it?"

"Please." Cameron took the file, looked in briefly on the sleeping girl, and headed to the cafeteria. Sipping her coffee, she started flipping through it.

_Given Name: Evelyn Rose Morris_

_Sex: Female_

_Age: 13 years_

Cameron read through extensive notes on treatment for suspected physical abuse: broken arms, bruising, lacerations…a school transcript showed Evvie was a gifted student, despite living in 4 different foster homes since the age of 3. Her pager went off, showing the number for Paediatrics. Cameron drained the last of her coffee and closed the file, heading up to the ward.

"You paged?" she questioned the same nurse she had spoken to before, handing back the file. The nurse gestured to a lady sitting in the lobby.

"The social worker wanted to speak with you." She explained.

Cameron made her way over. "Hello, I'm Dr. Allison Cameron, Evelyn's physician." She smiled, sitting down beside the woman.

"Maria Leeson." Maria held out her hand to shake Cameron's. "I'm Evelyn's social worker." She paused momentarily. "I've been speaking with Evvie. Evidently we have to take her from the care of her previous family, due to the abuse she has suffered." Cameron nodded, anger again surging in her stomach at the thought of what had happened to the girl. "Until we find her another home, she needs a temporary guardian." Maria eyed Cameron steadily. "We were hoping you might take on the responsibility."

Cameron balked, speechless. "M-me?" she squeaked, trying to take deep breaths. She couldn't imagine herself caring for a child, any child, let alone one who had suffered abuse to the extent that Evvie had. Taking a moment to gather herself, she questioned. "Do you mean in terms of making decisions referring to her treatment while she is in the hospital?"

Maria nodded. "As well as taking her into your home should she be discharged, feeding her, clothing her, enrolling her in school…Essentially all the things a parent would do, until we manage to find her another family."

She was perfectly honest. "It could be a while, and it's a big responsibility, but Evvie really seems to like you and she rarely makes connections with people." She looked at Cameron. "I wanted to take her myself, but we aren't allowed to."

Cameron sighed. "Maria, I'm an ER doctor. My hours are all over the place. I have a spare room, and I certainly have enough money, but what happens if I get called in in the middle of the night?" She looked at Maria sadly. "Evvie seems really sweet, but I wouldn't want to take on the responsibility and then not be able to give her the support she needs." She pondered for a moment. "Besides, isn't it unfair to get her settled somewhere and then jerk her out of it?"

Maria nodded. "Unfortunately, that's how the system works."

Cameron shuddered "It doesn't sound like a good experience."

Maria patted her knee. "You don't have to make a decision immediately. Talk it over with people. Evelyn is 13 years old, and acts more maturely than that. She's perfectly able to get to and from school by herself when you aren't available, and to make herself meals."

Cameron nodded. "I'll think about it."

"Give me a call when you decide." Maria handed her a card and left.

Cameron sighed and went in to sit with Evvie. "Hey there." She smiled as she saw the girl was sitting up and reading a book.

"Hi!" Evvie smiled back, putting the book to the side. "So I guess Maria told you I'm homeless again." She pulled a face.

Cameron nodded. "Yeah." She squeezed the girl's shoulder gently. "Just until they find you another family."

Evvie frowned. "Great." She replied sarcastically.

"Do you want to go grab some food? You must be starving." Cameron suggested, thinking she could get to know the girl a bit more.

"Yes, please."

Cameron helped Evvie off the bed carefully, and made sure her robe was tied up tightly. "Let's go." Evvie followed her from the room. Cameron let the nurse know where they were going and led Evvie downstairs to the cafeteria. They were both settled at the table with veggie burgers and fries when House came limping up and sat down at the table with coffee, reaching for some of Cameron's fries. She rolled her eyes and let him.

"You've adopted a stray." He commented.

"Evvie, this is Doctor House. I suggest ignoring him." Cameron informed her charge.

Evvie finished the fry she was munching on and swallowed. "What happened to your leg?" she questioned House.

"Infarction. Bunch of muscle died and they had to remove it." House eyed her. "What happened to you?"

"Foster brothers beat me up." Evvie eyed him right back.

"Huh." House continued to eat Cameron's fries.

"Can you leave _some_ for me?" Cameron demanded, exasperated.

"Then you might gain weight." House smirked.

"I _want_ some _fries_." Cameron informed him, turning the plate so the fries were facing her and starting to eat them.

House shrugged and went back to drinking his coffee. Evvie pulled out her book and started reading, continuing to munch on fries slowly.

"What're you reading?" House questioned.

Evvie didn't look up. "Brave New World." House nodded and went back to staring into space. Eventually, neither individual at the table proving interesting to him, he got up and wandered off. Evvie closed her book. "He's weird." She commented.

Cameron grinned. "Tell me about it." She noticed Evvie had stopped eating, her plate still half full. "You didn't eat very much." She commented, frowning.

"I'm full." Evvie shrugged. Cameron nodded slowly.

"Okay." She replied dubiously. "Shall we head back upstairs?" she wanted to talk to Cuddy.

"Sure." Cameron was confused by Evvie's matter-of-fact way of reacting to stuff. She dropped the girl off in her room and headed for Cuddy's office.

"Come in!" Cuddy called as she knocked.

"I wanted to talk to you." Cameron wandered into the office.

"About…." Cuddy prompted.

"The social worker asked me to become Evelyn Morris' temporary guardian." Cameron informed her. Cuddy paused her reading and looked up at her.

"Wow."

"Yeah." Cameron agreed. "Not to mention I don't know how long it will be for and she should be able to be discharged today. You don't need to be hospitalised for broken ribs." Cuddy nodded, waiting for her to say more. "I wanted to know what you thought. I mean, you're basically the only person I know here who's a parent." Cameron admitted eventually.

Cuddy shrugged. "You're responsible. You seem quite attached to the child already. We could rearrange your shifts to the daytime."

Cameron nodded slowly. "Then I think I'd like to do it. She's an interesting girl."

Cuddy smiled. "Welcome to parenthood, Dr. Cameron."

Cameron smiled back shyly. "Thanks."

Cuddy shooed her out. "Now go tell your new ward she has a home to go to."

"Evvie?" Cameron questioned as she poked her head in the door of Evvie's room. The girl looked up from her book.

"Yes?" she inquired. Cameron went to sit beside her.

"You're getting discharged." She told the girl, eyes sparkling.

Evvie looked panicked. "But…I don't have anywhere to go!"

"You're coming home with me." Cameron told her. "That is, if you want to. I've accepted the role of your interim guardian."

Evvie looked at her in shock. "But you just met me!"

Cameron shrugged.

Slowly a smiled made its way onto Evvie's face. "I'd love to come live with you!"

Cameron smiled in return. "Good." She took the girl's hand gently. "Now, I'm going to need to pick you up some clothes and shoes before we can discharge you, so I need to know your size and what colours you like and stuff."

And thus plans began to be made for Evvie's arrival into Cameron's life.


	3. Stay

Dressed in a dark blue hoodie, tank top, and jeans Cameron had picked out for her, Evvie followed her shyly into her apartment, carrying a shopping bag filled with a few additional essentials. "Wow." Her mouth opened in a slight 'O'.

"Do you like it?" Cameron questioned anxiously. "It's not huge or anything, but you'll have your own room and everything."

Evvie looked at her like she was insane. "I've never even had my own room before, let alone shared a house with just one other person."

Cameron smiled, setting down grocery bags on the kitchen table. "Well, feel free to look around. The room on the left is yours."

"You don't need help with the groceries?" Evvie questioned. Cameron shook her head, and Evvie set off to look at her new room eagerly. Cameron set to putting what they'd bought away and deciding what to make for dinner. She settled on stir fry and started measuring out rice. "Need a hand?" Evvie reappeared.

"Sure." Cameron slid a cutting board and a few peppers towards her.

"What are we making?"

"Vegetable stir-fry."

"Cool." Evvie set to chopping her pepper.

"I thought that tomorrow we'd pick you up some more stuff." Cameron suggested, slicing an onion.

"I don't need any more, really." Evvie insisted.

"I only got you two tops, Evvie." Cameron reasoned. "Besides, you've finished 'Brave New World'." She noticed Evvie's eyes light up at the concept of new books to read and Cameron chuckled. "Plus, I thought that if you feel up for it, you could start school on Monday. Start a pattern."

Evvie nodded. "Too bad I don't know how long I'm here for."

Cameron sighed. "I know." She looked at the girl sadly. "But there's not long left till summer. I'm sure they wouldn't move you until after that."

"Maria wouldn't let them." Evvie commented.

"She cares about you a lot."

The girl nodded silently.

Evvie passed out not long after dinner. Cameron was pretty tired too, but stayed up watching tv for a bit before heading to bed.

About 3 am she woke to a slight knock on her door. "Yes?" she questioned, rolling over to turn on the light. Evvie opened the door and entered quietly. "What's up?" Cameron asked, concerned. She patted the bed beside her.

"Dreams." Evvie commented tersely, coming to sit on the bed beside her. Cameron watched her silently until she felt like elaborating. "I was just walking home." Evvie started. "They came towards me and I started running. Made it to school - it was only a few blocks away - but they caught up to me there. John kicked me and I fell against something. Things got blurry after that." Tears were running down Evvie's cheeks. "I just remember it hurt. I don't even remember what happened to my clothes." She leaned against the headboard.

Cameron sat up and wrapped the blankets around her. "They can't hurt you now." Was all she could come up with.

Evvie nodded. "I know. The dreams are just really real, you know?"

"Yeah." Cameron studied her. "You want to stay in here with me?"

Evvie turned to her, surprised. "Is that okay?"

Cameron nodded. Evvie curled up on the other side of the bed. "I'm going to turn out the light, okay?"

"Yeah."

Cameron woke once more to Evvie's fast-paced breathing as she shot upright, but the girl settled herself back into bed as she realised it was a dream, evidently not wanting to wake her. Cameron let herself drift off again.

She woke again to find the bed beside her empty and neatly made. She wandered out into the living room to hear the shower running and smiled, heading to the kitchen to make coffee. After a few minutes Evvie emerged from the bathroom. "Morning." Cameron called, as the girl hadn't noticed her presence. Evvie jumped and turned, relaxing as she saw Cameron. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Cameron apologised.

"I just thought you were still sleeping." A smile graced Evvie's face. "I'll be right back, okay?"

Cameron nodded, taking a sip of her coffee and beginning to ponder the concept of breakfast. "Do you drink coffee?" she called out to Evvie.

"Never tried it!" was the response.

"Do you want to?" Cameron was boggled by the concept of never having tried the drink. Her parents had started offering her café au lait with just a tiny bit of coffee when she was about five.

Evvie grinned as she came out of her bedroom. "Why not?" Cameron poured her a cup.

"Most people put milk and sugar in it, so feel free to experiment." Evvie sniffed the drink suspiciously and tried a sip.

"Yeah. I think I'll try the milk and sugar route. It's a bit strong." She concluded.

Cameron pushed the sugar bowl towards her. "So I was thinking we could go out for breakfast before shopping."

Evvie looked up at her sadly. "You really don't have to do all this stuff for me, you know." She saw the look on Cameron's face and panicked. "It's not like I don't appreciate it, it's amazing. But you barely know me. Its kind enough you agreed to be my guardian till they can find me a family. You don't have to…" she stopped as Cameron slid a hand across the table and put it on top of her own.

"Evvie, you need to calm down. I'm not doing anything I don't want to. All of this is great for me too. Do you know how often I get to go out for breakfast or to go shopping? I spend all my time at the hospital." She smiled.

"Its just that no-one has ever done stuff like this for me before. Foster care isn't exactly…" she looked up at Cameron. "I've never had my own room or new clothes. I get my books from the library. No-one has ever bought me one except Maria. The closest I've been to going out for a meal is McDonalds."

"Huh." Cameron hadn't considered that fact. She thought for a minute. "Evvie, this is something I can do for you. I'm not going to be around all the time for you or be able to drive you to school every day. But I can provide for you. We can go do fun stuff when I'm home, like today. And if you don't like being home alone, I'm sure I can find a place for you to study at the hospital after school until I can head home with you. I don't really know what I'm doing here, but I can promise I'll try. Okay?"

Evvie nodded. "If it helps, you've done more for me so far than anyone else has."

Cameron smiled. "Thank you. That does help."

"And I'd love to go for breakfast."

"Great, I'll just shower." Cameron squeezed Evvie's hand and let go.

She returned to find Evvie exploring her movie collection and chuckled. "How's my taste?" she questioned.

"There are a lot I'd like to see." Evvie smiled.

"Ready to go?"

Evvie nodded. "Yup." They headed out to the car and then downtown to find somewhere for breakfast. Cameron settled on a little café she liked that made wonderful pancakes.

"I forgot to ask how your ribs are doing." Cameron commented as she swallowed a bite of pancake.

"Surprisingly well." Evvie replied. "I thought it would hurt a lot more to move around."

"You'll have to be exempt from PE at school until they heal." Cameron warned.

"Okay."

After breakfast they headed for the mall, Cameron talking Evvie into buying school supplies, books and clothes. She could tell Evvie was worried about the amount of money that was being spent on her, so she focussed on keeping the girl's mind off of it.

Several hours later, they loaded everything into her trunk. "We just need to stop off at your new school to get you registered, alright?"

Evvie nodded silently and was quiet as they drove to the nearby elementary school.

"We have an appointment with Mrs. Callahan." Cameron said to the secretary as they walked up to the counter in the office.

The woman smiled. "Take a seat, she'll be out in a moment." She picked up the phone, presumably to call the principal. Cameron guided Evvie to a nearby couch with an arm around her shoulders.

"Are you okay?" she questioned. Evvie was being extremely quiet.

"Yeah." The girl murmured. Cameron concluded she was probably just nervous.

"Dr. Cameron, Evelyn?" An older woman in a suit came out of her office to greet them. Cameron stood.

"Allison, please." She shook hands. "And this is Evvie."

"Hello, Evvie." Mrs. Callahan smiled. "Come into my office." She invited, leading the way. "It isn't often we have students registering so late in the year." She commented as she sat down.

"Evvie's situation is a little unusual." Cameron explained.

"Yes, I talked to Maria about that." Mrs. Callahan smiled. "She said you were an exceptional student, Evvie." Evvie smiled, pleased. "So let's talk class options. Obviously English, Maths, Social Studies, PE, and Science are required as core subjects. You also have to take a language." She looked down at Evvie's transcript. "I see you've been doing Spanish. Would you like to continue that?" She looked at Evvie.

"Yes, please."

"Your transcript suggests you should take our advanced English and Maths programs. However, there are only a couple of months left of school and you will be adjusting to a new environment. Would to like to do the advanced or regular program?"

"I think I'd be able to manage the advanced program." Evvie smiled. "I'd like to try, anyway."

Mrs. Callahan nodded approvingly. "Good girl."

"She needs to be exempt from PE for the next few weeks until her broken ribs heal." Cameron put in at this point.

"We can organise a study block instead." Mrs. Callahan smiled. "I think you'll do well here, Evvie."

Evvie blushed. "I hope so."

"If you wait a few moments, I can print off the syllabi for your courses so you can familiarise yourself before Monday."

"May we also have a copy of the school bus route?" Cameron questioned.

"Of course."

They left a little while later, having filled out paperwork and gotten Evvie's course material.

"I want to get you a cell phone." Cameron concluded.

"What?!" Evvie looked frightened by the concept. "Why?"

Cameron shrugged. "So you can contact me if anything happens, or if you want to go to a friend's after school. I think it's a good idea to be able to stay in touch."

Evvie nodded. It made sense. "Okay." She agreed. Cameron smiled and put an arm around her shoulders.

"Let's go home."

Cameron made dinner while Evvie poured over her course material, organising everything into her new binders. "At least I've read all the books for English." She commented. "And I've covered the same stuff in Maths and Social Studies and Science. Spanish is kind of the wild card."

Cameron grinned. "I'm sure you'll be fine."

"Yeah." Evvie put all the binders in her book bag and started unpackaging pens to put in her pencil case.

They ate dinner in front of a movie: _Breakfast at Tiffany's_ by Evvie's choice. Cameron smiled as Evvie curled up next to her.

When the film finished they both worked at loading the dishwasher. "I'm working tomorrow morning." Cameron informed her charge. "So you're welcome to either stay home or bring a book or something to the hospital, it's up to you."

"What time would I have to get up?"

"About seven."

Evvie smiled. "I'll come."

"Great." Cameron straightened up. "I'll maybe just give Dr. Cuddy a call and see if you could sit in her office. It'll be way quieter than the ER."

Evvie nodded.

Cameron went and retrieved her cell phone, finding Cuddy in her list and dialling.

"Hello?" Cuddy's voice echoed over the line. Cameron could hear Rachel giggling in the background.

"It's Cameron."

"What's up?" Cuddy asked, her voice concerned.

"Evvie's coming into the hospital with me tomorrow. Would you mind if she sat in your office and read? I just thought it would be nicer than the ER."

"I'm bringing Rachel with me, will she mind?"

"No, that's fine." Cameron smiled.

"Then I'd love to have her." Cuddy replied.

"Perfect. Thanks." Cameron hung up and turned to Evvie. "Dr. Cuddy is bringing her daughter Rachel too."

"How old is Rachel?"

"Only one and a half." Cameron smiled. "She's a sweetie."

Evvie smiled. "Okay."

The next morning, Cameron woke a sleepy Evvie at 7:15 am, once she'd finished her shower. "Time to get up, Evvie." She murmured, squeezing the girl's shoulder gently. Evvie opened an eye.

"Okay." She yawned, sitting up. Cameron headed to her room to dress and blow-dry her hair before making coffee.

Evvie emerged, dressed, just as it finished. "Want some?" she offered the girl. Evvie nodded so Cameron passed her a cup. "How about breakfast?"

Evvie shook her head. "Too early."

"I'll give you some money to get something from the cafeteria." Cameron wandered into the living room to sit on the couch while Evvie doctored her coffee before joining her. They sat in silence, sipping away at their warm drinks. Eventually Cameron looked at her watch. "Ready to go?"

"I'll just grab my book." Evvie ran off to her room while Cameron put on shoes and a coat.

Before they got out of the car, Cameron dug through her wallet and handed Evvie ten dollars. "Don't forget to eat breakfast." She instructed. "I'll come and find you for lunch."

"Sounds good." Evvie climbed out of the car.

Cameron led her up to Cuddy's office and knocked, entering on Cuddy's motioning. "Dr. Cuddy, this is Evvie. Evvie, Dr. Cuddy." She made introductions.

"Call me Lisa." Cuddy smiled. "And this" she kissed Rachel's head gently "is Rachel."

"Hi." Evvie smiled shyly.

"You two will be okay?" Cameron questioned. "I have to run." Both nodded in response. "Don't forget to eat breakfast." She instructed Evvie before running for the ER.

Cuddy smiled and shook her head at the younger doctor before turning to Evvie. "So how's living with Dr. Cameron?"

"It's amazing." Evvie grinned. "She's so kind to me. She bought all my favourite foods, and yesterday she took me out for breakfast and then shopping and bought me so much stuff!" she shook her head in amazement. "I've never lived with anyone like her before."

"She's a very caring person." Rachel fussed to get down and Cuddy set her on the floor, where she wandered towards Evvie's leg, hugging it. Evvie chuckled and picked her up.

"She's a wonderful person." Evvie agreed before blowing a raspberry at Rachel. The child laughed happily. "Do you have work to do?" She asked Cuddy. "I can take Rachel for a walk."

"It doesn't hurt your ribs to hold her?" Cuddy questioned. Evvie shook her head. "That would be amazing, if you really don't mind. I have a few phone calls to make."

Evvie smiled. "I don't mind. Is there anywhere we shouldn't go?"

"Avoid Psych and the ER." Cuddy recommended. "I'd visit Dr. Wilson in Oncology, he's a good friend of mine and Cameron's. You could also visit Dr. House if you feel like annoying him." Cuddy grinned at the idea.

"He's weird." Evvie wrinkled her nose.

"Ah, you've met." Cuddy smiled. "Yes, he is. But he does good and interesting work." She tried to be polite about her co-worker

"Okay." Evvie said dubiously, offering her hand to Rachel. "We'll be back in a bit." She walked slowly out of the room to keep pace with the child, making her way to the elevator. Oncology…she found it on the list. Picking Rachel up, she entered.

She knocked tentatively on the door marked 'James Wilson', entering when she heard "Come in!"

"Hi." She smiled. Rachel waved at the oncologist.

"Hey Rachel." Wilson made his way over and took the little girl who was stretching her arms towards him. "We haven't met." He smiled at Evvie, trying to ignore her bruising.

"I'm Evvie." She smiled. "Dr. Cameron's foster daughter."

Wilson paused, stunned. "What?!"

Evvie grinned. "It was pretty sudden. I don't think anyone really knows except Dr. Cuddy."

Wilson relaxed a little. "Figures." He motioned for Evvie to take a seat. "So how did that happen, if you don't mind my asking."

"I was brought into the ER and needed an interim guardian. Dr. Cameron is very kind." Evvie smiled.

Wilson nodded. "She's a wonderful person." He surmised the bruising may have something to do with Evvie's need for a new guardian. "So you'll be around the hospital a lot then, eh?"

Evvie nodded. "I think so. I'd rather be here than home alone."

"Fair enough." Wilson agreed. "Well, you're always welcome in here."

"Thanks." Evvie smiled. A knock at the door took both of their attention. House poked his head around it.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded of Evvie.

"Talking with Dr. Wilson and taking Rachel for a walk." She replied.

"That's not what I meant." He informed her sarcastically.

"I know." Evvie grinned.

"Don't you have a case?" Wilson questioned.

"No." House replied, twirling his cane.

"So you came to bother me."

"Pretty much."

"I should go." Evvie decided. "Allie made me promise to get breakfast." She stood.

House's eyes lit up at the idea of food. "Want company?" he questioned.

Evvie shrugged. "Sure, I guess."

Wilson suspected House was planning on mooching. "I'll come too." He hoisted Rachel onto his hip. House glared, his plan foiled.

"Do I require a security guard or something?" Evvie demanded.

"With House around, anything is possible." Wilson joked, making her smile. "Besides, I can hold Rachel while you eat."

"Thank you."

The group headed for the cafeteria.

"You should lose the baby and come to my office." House informed Evvie. "My team and I are going to play Monopoly."

"Er…Okay." Evvie was confused. "Aren't you a doctor?" she questioned.

"Yes."

"Why are you playing Monopoly, then?"

"I only take very special cases, and there aren't any right now."

"Huh." Evvie finished off her muffin. "Well, I doubt Lisa will mind. I'll just drop Rachel off."

"I can do that." Wilson offered.

"You sure?" he nodded. "Okay."

Evvie went with House to play Monopoly while Wilson returned Rachel and let Cuddy know what was going on. She was slightly disgruntled to discover House was playing Monopoly rather than doing anything useful, but at least it would keep him out of trouble.

"This is Evvie." House announced as Evvie followed him into his office. His team looked up, confused.

"You can't randomly acquire people from around the hospital, House!" Thirteen came over with the intention of returning Evvie to wherever she'd come from.

"This one I can." House informed her. "Besides, she came of her own free will to play Monopoly with us."

"May I have some coffee?" Evvie questioned.

House looked at her sideways. "Yes." Evvie wandered over to the coffee maker, located a cup, and poured herself some. "So. Evvie," Evvie looked over at him. "These are Thirteen, Taub, Kutner, and Foreman." He pointed at each in turn with his cane. "Let's play Monopoly!"

"Wait." Thirteen turned to Evvie. "Who are you?"

"Dr. Cameron's foster daughter." Evvie informed her matter-of-factly.

"Right. When did that happen?" Thirteen was surprised.

"Er...Two days ago?"

"Ah. Okay then." Thirteen went to sit at the table. Evvie followed. The game of Monopoly began.

"Evvie?" Evvie looked up as Cameron entered the office.

"Hey, Allie!" she smiled.

"Want to come get lunch?"

House pouted. "But we're playing!"

"Actually, I'm hungry too." Taub informed him.

"Yeah. Let's take a break." Kutner agreed.

House rolled his eyes. "Fine."

Evvie went to join Cameron and head for the cafeteria. "So you got commandeered, huh?" Cameron asked, chuckling.

"If it's to play Monopoly, being commandeered isn't so bad." Evvie pointed out.

"True." Cameron agreed. "So you're enjoying the hospital, then?" Evvie nodded.

"Can I come again tomorrow?"

Cameron smiled. "Sure. You seem to have made friends with everyone."

Evvie shrugged. "Only Wilson, really. House just wanted me to play Monopoly."

"His team's alright, once you get to know them."

"Thirteen is funny. Taub and Kutner are a bit…odd. Foreman didn't say anything the whole time." Evvie informed her.

"Weird. He usually talks a lot." Cameron mentioned. "I used to work with him on House's team."

"Why'd you leave?" Evvie asked.

"I was dating another doctor on the team and moved away. But Dr. Cuddy offered me the head of ER so I came back."

"I'm glad." Evvie smiled. "Cause that way you found me."

Cameron smiled and put an arm around her shoulders. "That way I found you."


	4. Forever

Evvie made her way up to the teacher of her first class, English. "Excuse me, but I'm new. Is there assigned seating?"

The woman turned from the board and smiled. "You must be Evelyn." Evvie nodded.

"Sit wherever you'd like." She went to the bookshelf and found a book, returning to hand it to Evvie. "We're reading The Chrysalids. Have you studied it?"

"Not studied it, but I've read it."

"Well then, you're ahead of half of my students." Evvie smiled and went to take a seat.

The day passed without trouble, and she found one or two people in each of her classes who seemed friendly enough. By the end of classes, she was ready to head to the hospital and curl up with a good book.

"Lisa?" she knocked on the door of Cuddy's office.

"Come in!"

"Do you mind if I study in here?" Evvie questioned. Cuddy shook her head and motioned her in. Evvie pulled out her cell to text Cameron and let her know where she was before starting in on her homework. It didn't take long before she could start on her fun reading: the His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman.

Cameron came to find her a few hours later. "Hey Evvie, how was school?"

"It was fine." Evvie smiled.

"Ready for dinner?" Evvie nodded. Cameron turned to Cuddy. "Thanks for letting her stay." She smiled.

"Not a problem."

Cameron woke briefly as Evvie climbed in with her part way through the night. Bad dreams again…she thought briefly before falling back to sleep.

That weekend, Cameron had a Saturday off, and so decided to make the most of it by taking Evvie to the park. Until her ribs healed, they couldn't do anything overly enthusiastic, but there was no reason they couldn't enjoy the sunshine. They spent the whole day there, reading, making daisy chains, being generally ridiculous and immature. They went out for dinner, to a nice Italian restaurant with an outdoor patio. Cameron waited until their food arrived before breaching the subject she'd been wanting to bring up for a few days.

"Evvie, do you want to talk to someone?" she questioned gently, earning a confused gaze from the girl.

"What do you mean?"

"You've been through a lot. You keep having bad dreams. I was just wondering if you wanted to talk to someone about it." Cameron shrugged.

"Like, a therapist?" Cameron nodded. Evvie shook her head. "No, thanks. I'm good."

"Okay." Cameron smiled. "Just thought I'd ask."

Evvie smiled back. "Well, thanks."

"No problem." They proceeded through dinner in companiable silence.

Weeks turned into months, and soon Evvie was finishing school.

"Is there anything you want to do in the summer?" Cameron questioned her one evening over dinner. "I don't want you spending the whole time moping around here or the hospital."

"I don't _mope_!" Evvie insisted, giggling.

"I know. It's a figure of speech." Cameron smiled. "But I don't want you to get bored. There must be something you want to do."

"My friend Carrie invited me to go up to her cabin at some point." Evvie offered.

"I've picked you up from her house before." Cameron remembered.

"Yeah."

"Well that sounds fun. When is that happening?"

"Not sure yet." Evvie smiled. "She said she'd give me a call."

"Okay."

"I also offered to babysit Rachel." Evvie informed her.

"You really like her, don't you?" Cameron smiled.

"She's cute and really easy to take care of, and Lisa's nanny is going on holiday soon." Evvie explained. "So I said I could do it."

"Well, it will be nice for you to make a bit of money. You know, for stuff your allowance doesn't cover or whatever."

"Yeah." Evvie agreed.

It was that evening that Allison Cameron acted on a decision she'd been pondering for a while. After Evvie had gone to bed, she pulled out Maria's card.

"Maria?" she questioned as she heard the other end of the line picked up.

"Yes?" the voice on the other end inquired.

"It's Allison Cameron."

"Allison." She could hear the pleasure in the other woman's voice. "How are things going?"

"Great." Cameron smiled. "They're great. That's why I'm calling."

"What do you mean?"

"I'd like to apply to be Evvie's permanent guardian. I'd like her to stay with me."

She could practically hear the smile in the other woman's voice. "I'm glad to hear that."

"How do I go about doing it?" Cameron asked eagerly.

"You just did." Maria replied. "You're already her legal guardian and have been approved as a care home. We'll just close the file trying to find her a new family."

"So I can tell her she's staying for sure?" Cameron asked.

"Yes."

Cameron beamed. "Thanks Maria."

"No. Thank you, Allison. You know how much it means to me to see Evvie in a good home." Maria hung up.

Cameron snuck into Evvie's room and woke her. "Evvie." She whispered.

"Allie?" Evvie asked sleepily. "What's up?"

"I just talked to Maria." Cameron told her.

"And?" Evvie sounded nervous.

"You're staying here permanently." Ally told her, smiling.

"Really?!" Evvie threw her arms around her.

Cameron chuckled. "Well, until you want to go to university and move out and all, yeah."

Evvie was beaming. "Oh my God!" She couldn't stop smiling.

Cameron discovered she couldn't stop either.


	5. Grow

Cameron headed up to Cuddy's open front door and poked her head in. "Hello?" she called.

Rachel ran around the corner, giggling, followed by Evvie, who seemed to be enjoying herself every bit as much as the little girl. "Aunt Allie!" the little girl raced up to her, holding her arms up to be picked up. Cameron obliged.

"Hey, Allie." Evvie smiled.

"How was your day?" Allie questioned.

"Great! Most everyone except Lisa and James are out back." Cuddy had decided to host a barbeque in the nice summer weather.

"Of course. Why help when you can drink beer?" Cameron rolled her eyes, grinning. They made their way into the kitchen. "Hey everybody." Cuddy came over to kiss her on the cheek.

"You escaped."

Cameron nodded. "Eventually."

"Can I go down?" Rachel questioned.

"Sure." Cameron set her down and the child raced off towards the back deck.

"Where's she off to?" Cuddy questioned Evvie.

"She was doing Remy's hair."

"Ah. Thirteen will be so pleased to have her back." Cuddy commented sarcastically.

Evvie grinned. "Where did James go?"

"To cook the hamburgers." Cuddy smiled. "And veggie burgers, in your case."

"Thanks."

"Do you need a hand?" Cameron questioned. Cuddy picked up a bowl of salad.

"Nope, I'm all done." They headed out to the back of the house together.

"Hey Cuddles, did you bring more beer?" House demanded as they walked outside.

"Get your own."

"Evvie?" House made puppy dog eyes. "Help a poor cripple out?"

"You suck." She stuck out her tongue at him and went back inside.

"Could you _not_ manipulate my daughter?" Cameron frowned at him.

"Oh calm down. You know she wouldn't do it if she minded" was House's amused reply. Cameron couldn't argue with that, and there were cheers all round as Evvie returned with a 6-pack. She laughed and rescued Cameron one before they could all be taken.

"Thanks, sweetie" Cameron wrapped an arm around her daughter's shoulders.

"No problem." Evvie sipped on her own drink.

"Thanks, Evvie." Echoed belatedly from different places around the table. Wilson chose that point to deliver a stack of burger patties to the table.

"This is _awesome_!" House announced. "We should do it every day."

"You wish." Cuddy sniped as she rescued Thirteen from her daughter's adoration.

"Thanks." Thirteen winced, before turning to Rachel. "I'll look at it in a minute, okay sweetie?" Rachel nodded, pleased. Thirteen winked at Cuddy.

"Hey, Evvie!" Kutner called from across the table.

"Yeah?"

"When are you next coming to the hospital?"

"I don't know, why?"

Thirteen rolled her eyes. "He just wants another chance to beat us." She informed the girl. "Not gonna happen though, right?"

"No way!" Evvie agreed. She had become a video game expert due to being commandeered by various members of House's team during breaks or when they didn't have cases. She helped herself to some of the chips on the table. "Kutner and Taub need to up their game if they want even a smidgen of a chance of beating us." She held up her hand for a high five from Thirteen.

The next day Cuddy, Cameron, and Thirteen took Rachel and Evvie to a nearby waterpark. Cuddy took Rachel to the kiddie park while the other three raced towards the waterslides, all acting as if they were about 13 years old.

Thirteen and Evvie were floating down the lazy river later when Thirteen asked the inevitable. "Why didn't you invite one of your friends from school?" she asked, rolling over on her inner tube to face Evvie.

Evvie shrugged in the water. "I have more fun with all of you at the hospital than I do with friends at school. I'm not into makeup or fashion or boys. Being at the hospital is like being in one giant family all of the time." She smiled. "It's not like you count as _actual_ adults. You're more like older siblings or something." She chuckled. "Or younger siblings, in some cases."

Thirteen wrinkled her nose. "I guess we are pretty immature."

Evvie nodded. "Whatever. I'm mature, you're immature. That leaves us about the same age, right?"

"I guess so." Thirteen smiled. "As long as you're happy."

"Happier than ever."

"Hey guys." Cameron swam up. "What's up?"

Thirteen stretched. "Just enjoying not being at work or anywhere near House."

"He's not that bad, Remy" Evvie frowned at her.

"_You_ don't work for him."

Cameron nodded in agreement. "It's true. He's really frustrating to work for."

Evvie yawned. "Mmm kay."

Cameron dipped underwater and flipped Evvie's tube, laughing as she tumbled into the water. "Wake up, sleepyhead." She commandeered it for herself.

"No fair." Evvie came up dripping. Cameron shrugged.

"Should've been paying attention." She joked. Then: "What do you feel like for dinner?"

"Wraps?" Evvie requested. "With avocado?"

"The ones where we put everything out on the table and go at it?" Cameron questioned. Evvie nodded. "Okay." Cameron turned to Thirteen. "Wanna come?"

"Sure, sounds good." Thirteen lay back on her raft, half asleep, so Evvie shoved her off and jumped on triumphantly, grinning.

Eventually they made their way back to where they'd left the towels with Cuddy. "Evvie!" Rachel came running over.

"Hey, Rach." Evvie swung the little girl up into her arms. "Wanna go back in the water?" Rachel nodded and the three older women watched as the two darted in and out of the water fountains, splashing each other and screeching.

"I think they'd be having just as much fun if we stuck them in the garden with two hoses." Cuddy pointed out in amusement.

Cameron nodded. "Yeah."

"I'm joining in." Thirteen ran over and grabbed hold of a water sprayer, turning it to shoot at Evvie.

"Remy!!" Evvie protested, laughing. Rachel came to the rescue by stepping on a giant button and water squirted up from under Thirteen's feet.

"Ah!" Thirteen jumped as she got soaked, escaping the spray to chase Rachel and swing her up in the air. Rachel screamed happily. Evvie took over the water sprayer, attacking them both with it.

A few minutes all three emerged, dripping from head to toe.

"Time to go?" Evvie questioned. "I'm starving."

Cameron nodded. "Me too."

They trouped towards the changing rooms.

"What's this?" Thirteen prodded a piece of tofu with a confused expression on her face.

"It's tofu, Rem." Evvie informed her, setting down a plate of tortillas.

Thirteen sighed. "I don't understand you vegetarians." She sipped her glass of wine. Evvie passed her a plate.

"Want a bit of wine, Evvie?" Cameron questioned.

"Just a little." Evvie nodded, putting a tortilla on her plate and beginning to assemble her wrap. They sat around the living room table to eat, lounging on the floor.

"Mmm. This is the way to live." Thirteen sighed happily. "Friends, food, wine, days in the sun."

"Here, here." Cameron clinked her glass with Thirteen's.

"I can't believe school starts in a week." Evvie wrinkled her nose.

"You like school." Cameron pointed out.

"High school could be different." Evvie argued.

"I think you'll like it." Remy put in. "You get way more choice on what to study."

Evvie nodded. "I'm taking bio and chem and starting French as well as keeping on with Spanish."

"See? Everything you like." Cameron smiled. "And all your friends are still going to be there."

"Yeah" Evvie agreed, taking a small sip of her wine.

Cameron was reading a book in bed when she heard her door open and looked up to see Evvie. "Hey, sweetie. What's up?"

Evvie sighed, climbing into the bed beside her. "It's just that things have been so great since I came to live with you and I'm afraid they're going to change."

Cameron frowned. "Why would they change?"

"What if high school _is_ different?"

Cameron smiled, propping her head on an arm. "It will be different, Ev. There'll be more people for you to get to know, you'll probably have more work. You're going to get older. Change doesn't necessarily have to be bad. You coming here was a change and it was good, right?"

Evvie nodded and cuddled into the pillow. "I just like how things are now."

Cameron kissed her forehead gently. "None of us are going anywhere." She whispered.

"Good." Evvie murmured.


	6. Hurt

"How did this happen?" Cameron whispered. "Why didn't Maria tell me?" She stood over Evvie's hospital bed on the girl's first day of high school.

"Maybe she didn't have the information." Cuddy murmured, a hand on Cameron's shoulder.

"_Why_ not?" Cameron demanded, tears running down her face. "They hurt her so badly before. She should _never _have had to encounter them again." She looked down at her daughter, the bruising on her neck, the black eye. Stitches. A broken arm. She could only thank God they'd been caught before they killed her. She knew they would have. It was the _why_ that she didn't understand. Why did her previous foster brothers hate her so much? She took Evvie's unconscious hand. "I'm sorry, Evvie." She murmured to the unconscious girl.

"At least they were caught this time." Cuddy pointed out. "This way they can be charged."

Cameron nodded.

Thirteen knocked on the door, looking worried. "I just heard. How is she?"

Cameron gestured to the bed and Thirteen entered. "Oh, God." She sat down beside Cameron, leaning her head on the other woman's shoulder. "I told her it would all be okay." She whispered.

"Me too." Cameron commented, her hand still on Evvie's.

Thirteen looked up at her. "Were you in the ER when…" Cameron nodded. "God" Thirteen muttered.

"At least she's breathing on her own." Cameron pointed out. "It's better than it could have been."

"Yeah." Thirteen agreed.

"Now all we can do is wait for her to wake up" Cuddy sighed. "You should be lying down." She informed Cameron.

Cameron looked up at her angrily. "You really think I'd leave her?"

Thirteen looked between them. "What happened?"

"I passed out." She muttered. "When I saw it was her…" she took a deep breath. "I just passed out. It's fine."

Thirteen nodded. "Okay." She looked up at Cuddy, who shrugged.

It wasn't until about 2 am that Evvie came to. All of House's team had stopped by at one point or another, but only Thirteen was with her at that point, Cuddy having had to leave to care for Rachel, and Cameron having finally been convinced to nap after having been up for far too long. Thirteen saw her move and heard the brief moan that came afterwards.

"Evvie?" she questioned. "Evvie, sweetie?" leaning forward.

"Rem?" Evvie asked.

"Yeah, it's me." Remy found that tears were running down her face. "I'm going to call Allie, okay?"

"'Kay." Evvie murmured. Thirteen took Evvie's hand gently as she dialled Cameron's number.

"Allie? She's awake." She hung up. "She's on her way." She informed the girl.

"It hurts, Remy." Evvie whimpered.

"They hurt you pretty badly." Remy told her. "We've got you on low dose morphine, but now you're awake we'll be able to monitor it better, okay?" Evvie nodded a little.

Cameron entered the room, almost running towards her daughter. "Evvie?"

"Mom" Cameron smiled. Evvie had never called her that before. Her daughter looked up at her through one good eye.

"I'm so sorry, Evvie." Cameron's voice broke.

"You couldn't know they were there." Evvie told her gently through swollen lips. "I'll be okay."

Cameron nodded. "Yeah"

Thirteen grabbed the chart and looked up Evvie's morphine dose. "I don't want to up your morphine, sweetie." She told Evvie.

"Okay." Evvie agreed. "It's a bit better now I'm used to it anyways. It was just a shock to wake up to." Thirteen nodded.

After a little while, Evvie drifted back off. "Why don't you take a nap?" Cameron suggested.

"Yeah." Thirteen smiled slightly. "I think that might be a good idea." She studied Cameron. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm…" Cameron sighed. "I'm a mess." She concluded. "I just don't understand why anyone would do this to her. She's such a sweetheart. No-one deserves this, let alone her."

"The world is an unfair place and all that." Thirteen agreed.

"I guess you know that more than most people."

"No more than you. Watching someone die is just as bad as being the one dying. Trust me."

Cameron nodded.

"We all got attached to her pretty quickly." Thirteen chuckled, changing the subject. "Even House stopped by." Cameron looked surprised. Thirteen eyed her sideways. "After you went to sleep, of course. Wouldn't want you thinking he might actually care or anything."

Cameron smirked. "Of course not." They shared a moment of amusement.

"Would you want to find coffee instead of that nap?" Thirteen questioned. "I think she's out for a while and I'm not sure I could sleep."

"I'd like that." Cameron smiled gently.

They ventured to the doctor's lounge, collapsing onto couches as the coffee brewed. "Something comfortable." Thirteen grinned.

"You don't have to stay, you know." Cameron pointed out. "Not that I don't appreciate it or don't enjoy your company or anything." She quickly tacked on the end in case Thirteen took her meaning wrong.

"I want to." Thirteen replied.

"Well, thanks." Cameron stood and went to pour the coffee. Thirteen followed her, taking her own cup.

"No worries." Her blue eyes observed Cameron over the top of her mug as she sipped. Cameron took that moment to realise that Thirteen had become a friend not just to Evvie, but to her. She smiled at the thought. She hadn't noticed the thorns gradually falling off the rose, but they had. She followed Thirteen back to the couch.

"When do you think they'll discharge her?" she questioned.

Thirteen yawned. "Probably tomorrow. I'm taking a personal day for sure."

"I should probably head home and pick up some clothes for her at some point."

"Why don't you ask Lisa? She won't mind and you shouldn't really be driving on so little sleep." Thirteen pointed out.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea." Cameron slid out of her shoes and pulled her feet up onto the couch, curling up against the back pillow. She yawned. "This is comfy."

"If you're going to nap, why not crash in the on-call room?" Thirteen suggested.

"I'm not napping, I'm just relaxing." Cameron's eyes closed and Thirteen watched in amusement as her breathing became even and her features relaxed.

"Right." She snorted. She sat with the auburn-haired doctor as she slept. She was glad Cameron had gone back to her darker colour after breaking up with Chase, it looked way better. She sipped her coffee slowly, finding her own eyes beginning to shut, and eventually gave up and curled up on the couch as well.

Cameron woke up to light filtering through the blinds. Blinking sleepily, she tried to bring her watch into focus. 6:30 am. She could call Cuddy. Sitting up she saw that Thirteen was curled up at the other end of the couch and grinned. "Guess the coffee worked."

She went into the hallway so as not to disturb her and dialled Cuddy's number, suppressing a yawn. "Hey Lisa."

"Hey! How's Evvie?"

"She woke up about 2 am, but she's sleeping now."

"Oh good." The relief in Cuddy's voice was evident.

"I was actually wondering if you could do me a favour." Cameron questioned.

"Sure."

"Could you pick up some clothes for Evvie?"

"Of course. Umm…keys?"

Cameron pondered a moment. "There's a spare taped to the bottom of the flower pot." She remembered.

"Okay. See you soon."

"Thanks." Cameron hung up, heading back in to wake Thirteen as she knew the other woman would want to see Evvie too. "Reeeemy." She squeezed the brunette's shoulder lightly. Thirteen shifted slightly. "Wake up."

"Mmm?" Thirteen opened an eye sleepily. "I fell asleep." She noticed.

"Yeah. We both did." Cameron chuckled. "I was going to check on Evvie and thought you'd want to come."

"Yeah." Thirteen sat up and stretched.

Evvie was still asleep in her bed when they entered. Cameron kissed her forehead gently, not wanting to wake her. "How does anyone do this to another living being?" she questioned, looking down at her daughter's bruised and broken body.

Thirteen shrugged, her arms wrapped around herself. "I don't know." She whispered, thinking of the emotional damage she had done to her parents.

Cameron noticed her recalcitrance. "What's up?"

Thirteen shook her head. "Just thinking."

Cuddy gave all three a ride home after Evvie was discharged. They dropped off Thirteen first, and the brunette was surprised when Cameron climbed out of the car to hug her and kiss her gently on the cheek. "Thanks for staying." She murmured, smiling, before disappearing back into the car. Thirteen stood and watched as the car drove off, wondering if there was anything that wasn't completely pure about Allison Cameron.

"You'll be okay?" Cuddy questioned as she dropped them off at Cameron's apartment.

"Yeah." Cameron hugged her tightly. "Thanks, Lisa."

"No worries." Cuddy headed back to the hospital.

Cameron lead Evvie inside. Evvie looked completely lost. "What do you feel like doing?" Cameron asked softly.

"Sleeping." Evvie murmured.

"Okay. Want to come in my bed?"

Evvie nodded, heading off to her room to change. Moments later she appeared at Cameron's door. Cameron was already in bed. Evvie climbed in beside her, taking Cameron's arm and pulling it over her body. Cameron curled around her gently. She could feel Evvie crying against her. She didn't try and stop her, just held her carefully, tucking the blankets around them both. "I love you, Ev." She whispered.


	7. Unsafe

Evvie didn't recover like she did the first time. Her effervescent personality was gone. Cameron didn't suggest she go back to school. Neither did Evvie. She became a shadow, coming to the hospital with Cameron, staying with Thirteen or Cuddy or Wilson. Staring out the window for hours at a time. She didn't read anymore. She slept with Cameron at night, afraid to be alone. She lost weight. Cameron had asked her over and over about going into therapy, but Evvie continued to refuse. Eventually Cameron made her go, unable to watch her falling apart day by day.

Evvie stood in front of the door and knocked. It opened to reveal a pleasant room and a kind-looking woman. "Evelyn?" she asked, smiling.

"Evvie" Evvie murmured, looking down as she watched the woman take in her broken arm and bruised eye. Her other bruises had finally faded, but she knew the eye was still pretty bad.

"I'm Dr. Sollis. Please come in."

Evvie jumped as the door snapped shut behind her.

"Please sit." Dr. Sollis gestured to a comfortable arm chair and Evvie settled into it. "You're thirteen?" Evvie nodded. "And Dr. Cameron is your foster mother, correct?"

"Yeah."

"You've been admitted to this hospital twice, both times due to physical abuse from foster brothers in your previous home."

"Yes."

"Once while in Dr. Cameron's care."

"She didn't have anything to do with it if that's what you're implicating." Evvie said angrily. "She wasn't even allowed to know who my previous foster parents were."

"I'm not trying to lay blame, Evvie." Dr. Sollis said soothingly. "I'm simply trying to establish the facts."

"They're right there in my file." Evvie snapped.

Dr. Sollis closed the file. "I'm afraid we may have gotten off on the wrong foot. Perhaps we can talk about what you're going through right now."

"My old foster brothers tried to strangle me after breaking my arm and blacking my eye. I don't want to be here. How do you think I feel?" Evvie stood up and walked towards the window.

"Angry." Dr. Sollis replied. "Afraid. Sad. All normal."

"Whatever." Evvie sighed. "I just thought I was safe now."

"Because you were away from them?"

Evvie nodded.

"Charges are being laid."

"Great." Evvie said sarcastically.

"They'll probably be imprisoned." Dr. Sollis pointed out.

"'Probably' doesn't really work for me anymore, you see."

"They're in custody. They can't hurt you."

"I guess." Evvie prowled around the room like a trapped animal. "I was just really happy, for the first time ever, you know? And then they showed up and did this to me again, and it's like my perfect little world got smashed. Only, it's still there. It's me that's different. I'm sad. I don't fit in any more."

"Have you talked to your mom about this?"

Evvie shook her head. "Allie tries so hard. She does everything she can for me. I can't just tell her that."

"What about friends?"

"It'd be kind of weird to tell Remy or someone without telling Allie." Evvie shrugged.

"Remy is…?"

"Dr. Hadley. She works for Dr. House."

"I meant friends your own age." Dr. Sollis frowned.

"I don't have a lot of friends my own age." Evvie informed her. "I don't really fit in with them. I'm happier here."

"Here?"

"At the hospital, with Allie and Remy and everyone."

"I see."

"It's kind of like a big family." Evvie tried to explain. "They all take care of me…I don't know, it's nice."

"But now you don't fit in anymore."

"I'm not happy anymore. I just don't feel like doing the stuff I used to. I know I'm worrying everyone, but…I don't really know how to fix it."

"Do you think keeping it all inside will fix it?" Dr. Sollis asked.

Evvie shrugged. "Probably not."

"Maybe it's confusing for everyone when they know you aren't okay, but you won't let them help."

"I guess." Evvie sighed. "You think I should tell Allie and Remy?"

"It might help them understand why you're sad all the time. I know Allie is really worried."

"I know." Evvie looked down.

"Well, Evvie, I think this has been a good first session." Dr. Sollis smiled. "I look forward to working with you."

"See you later." Evvie climbed out of the chair and headed for the door, opening and exiting to find Cameron waiting for her.

"How was it?" Cameron looked nervous, standing.

"It was better than I thought." Evvie admitted, leaning against Cameron. Cameron put an arm around her shoulders.

"Good." They wandered out of the psych wing. "Want to get lunch?"

"Yeah." Down in the cafeteria, Evvie acquired a grilled cheese and some soup. Cameron smiled when she saw the sandwich. It had been hard to get Evvie to eat lately.

Taking a seat at an empty table, Evvie looked confused. "Aren't you going to ask me what we talked about?" she questioned Cameron.

Cameron chuckled. "You'll tell me if you want to. I know I'm your guardian and all that, but this therapy is for you – there are probably parts you'll want to talk about, and parts you'll want to keep to yourself."

"Yeah, that's true." Evvie took a bite of her sandwich. "If Remy can come over tonight, I think I'd like to tell you both something at the same time. Easier to go through it once and all that."

"Okay." In all honesty, Cameron thought she might be grateful for a wingman on this one. Or wingwoman, as the case was. "You want to invite her or shall I?"

"I was thinking I'd head up there after lunch, see what's going on. You're done at 7, right?" Cameron nodded.

"Kay."

Cameron smiled at her, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "Thanks for trusting me."

Evvie grinned. "No problem."

They finished lunch and Evvie headed to diagnostics while Cameron went back to work. She found them doing a differential and let herself in quietly to watch. They were interesting. Thirteen winked at her as she came in and sat down. She smiled in return and sat back to watch the suggestions fly.

As everyone filtered out, she approached House. "Feel like getting your ass kicked on X Box by a little girl?"

He examined her. "I don't know if you'd noticed, but you only have one functioning arm."

She shrugged. "My fingers still work, don't they?" He nodded and gestured to the door. They headed for the doctor's lounge.

"You pick the game."

Evvie went over and selected a battle game. "Let's go." she turned on the machine and moved back to the couch to select her character. The game started and she concentrated on kicking House's ass. She had to admit it was more difficult with the cast between her fingers and thumb. House beat her without much difficulty. They played until Thirteen arrived with blood results, eliminating the diagnosis they'd been expecting.

"Get Taub and Kutner back." House told her, standing. Evvie followed them back to diagnostics. While they waited for the two other doctors, Evvie invited Thirteen for dinner.

"Given that I can get out of here at a reasonable hour, definitely." Thirteen nodded.

"Don't I get an invite?" House whined.

"No" Was Evvie's straightforward response.

He pouted. "You're way too blunt for your own good." He returned to his handheld Nintendo. Evvie smiled.

Later that night, Evvie sat on the kitchen counter while Cameron and Thirteen prepared dinner and essentially repeated to them what she'd told Dr. Sollis before waiting for a response, biting her lip.

Cameron went first. "When you go through something really painful, it's natural to feel displaced." She looked up at her daughter. "When I was 22, my husband died of cancer. I spent the next few years concentrating on nothing but med school. I lost touch with my family, my friends. I didn't want to get close to anyone. It wasn't until I graduated and started at the Mayo Clinic that I actually started making friends again." She shrugged. "I wish someone had told me to talk to someone, which is maybe why I've been pushing you so hard about therapy."

Thirteen nodded. "When I got diagnosed with Huntington's, I went the opposite way. I also didn't want to get close to anyone, but I went about it in a really self-destructive way. I watched it destroy my mom, remember what it did to our family. I didn't want the same for anyone else. But sometimes you need people, you know? If people want to know you despite the fact that they know what's going to happen, I don't know if you have the right to push them away." She sighed. "I can't connect with that feeling of having the perfect life like you and Allie, because I was too young to remember when it was like that. But I understand the feeling of not fitting anymore." She shrugged. "I don't really know what to say to help you with what you're going through, except that I guess both Allie and I have had some sort of experience that can help us to relate."

"Okay." Evvie nodded. They went back to making dinner in silence, none of them sure what to say.


End file.
